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Armed with Youtube
I found this video before I arrived at my first job teaching in Korea. I planned to use this and many other instructional videos to help the students learn. -
A Lacking Classroom
I was very disppointed to arrive in Korea and find that technology was not available OR allowed. No phones, computers, or televison screens were allowed in classrooms. -
Better Than Nothing
In one of my first classes, I was instructed to use a cd player and play dictation for the kids. I hadn't seen a cd player in years, but at least they were somewhat open to electricty in the classroom. -
"Don't Let Anyone See"
As we prepared for a holiday, the teachers stopped giving me work to finish and told me to hold a free talking conversation class-with one minute's preparation. I started to encourage the (hidden) use of smart phones, because I hate when students make a real effort at communication and are hindered by a very small vocabulary knowledge gap. -
Halloween
On Halloween, we had a big party for all the students, and I was asked to write some fun quiz questions. We moved to a bigger classroom in a different part of the building, and made use of their projector to play the game. The kids responded so well to seeing everything up on the scrren, and they understood much more being able to see it written out, but without having to wait for me to write everything down. -
"Teacher, I'm cold!
While a heater may not be considered the latest technology, it was still a piece of technological equipment that I appreciated. When it broke, and fixing it was not a priority, I had a very small idea of what it must be like to teach in difficult conditions beyond your control, and how things like comfort level can so easily interfere with the students' concentration. Here is an artist's rendering of my student, Jacob. -
"You teach with tablets?!"
Halfway through my contract, I met a group of teachers working for the largest private school franchise in Korea. They explained that they AND their students all worked with tablets, and the teacher's was connected to a large tv screen at the front. They were always able to show relevant videos and play flash games, and even instruct things like creative video projects. -
Digital Storytelling
In June, I started the USF course on Digital Storytelling and got to record some of my students speaking English. I did not expect that they would be so motivated to keep learning when they saw how well they already spoke English, nor how noticing mistakes would make them work harder either. I now value you video playback as an effective error correction method. -
My New Classroom
On this day, I started working at public school with a massive classroom equipped with a projector and speaker system. The students and I loved doing introductions because they could be accompanied by photos of my friends, clips of my favorite songs, and the ability to google my address. -
Nametags
For our first welcome activity with fifth grade, they made nametags. Using the technology of their homeroom teacher's computer and television, as well as my iPhone, we listened to English pop songs while decorating and getting our pictures taken with our nametags. After, I pasted them into a form with their name typed out, creating a sort of face book to help memorize names.
